Tory ministers have rallied around Boris Johnson after he was found by police to have broken his own Covid rules, making him the first prime minister to be hit with criminal sanctions while in office.
His cabinet, including Brexit minister Jacob Rees-Mogg and foreign secretary Liz Truss, lined up to defend Mr Johnson as he faced resignation calls after being fined over a party held on 19 June 2020 to mark his 56th birthday, with several using Russia’s war against Ukraine to move on from the issue.
Earlier, Mr Johnson said it "did not occur" to him that the gathering might be breaching Covid rules, while Rishi Sunak said he understood that "for figures in public office, the rules must be applied stringently in order to maintain public confidence".
However, a YouGov poll revealed that 57 per cent of voters feel the prime minister and chancellor should resign and about 75 per cent responders believe that Mr Johnson knowingly lied to Parliament about whether he broke lockdown rules, with just 12 per cent saying he did not.
